Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed review: “Best night’s sleep on a sofa bed of my life”

RRP at time of testing: from £3,195 | Check price at Loaf

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Our verdict

You'd be forgiven for thinking the Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed is expensive and enormous when unfolded. But following a month-long test, it seems the Squishmeister is actually very good - perhaps rather too good - at encouraging guests to stay. In fact, it's one of the rare sofa beds that doesn’t treat overnight comfort as an optional extra.

Poppy tested the medium version in her family sitting room for a month. The feather-filled cushions were supportive and squishy, though still softening up by the end of testing. The pocket-sprung mattress was the real surprise: “As a sofa bed, it’s by far the comfiest one I’ve ever had,” she said.

It’s not flawless. The medium mattress is 133cm wide, close to a standard double, but it felt snug next to Poppy’s usual king-size bed. The gaps beside the bed frame are awkward, the seat cushions don’t tuck neatly away and the rounded arms won’t safely hold a cup of tea. At £3,195, it’s hard to justify for a guest who appears once every other Christmas.

Still, it was noticeably comfier and better made than the Argos, DFS and futon sofa beds Poppy has owned. Her verdict was clear: “If I had £3k to spend on a sofa bed, I’d get this one.”

How we tested the Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed

Poppy used the Squishmeister as her family’s everyday sofa for one month, with two teenagers, two terriers and cats providing a fairly unforgiving durability test. She repeatedly opened and closed the bed, checked whether one person could manage it and measured the sofa, mattress and gaps around the frame.

She also had an afternoon nap on the mattress and slept on it overnight. During testing, she assessed sofa comfort, bed comfort, the folding mechanism, build quality, ease of cleaning, room footprint and value for money. The Squishmeister scored 90 out of 100 against Mumsnet’s testing criteria.

What is the Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed?

The Squishmeister is a handmade-to-order sofa bed built in the UK. This non-flat-pack version arrives assembled, with Loaf’s two-person delivery team putting it in position and removing the packaging. It comes in medium and large sizes, with a choice of fabrics, colours and oak leg finishes.

Beneath the seat cushions is a metal fold-out frame and a 13cm pocket-sprung mattress. The mattress is properly tufted, with breathable cotton and polyester beneath a viscose wrap. The sofa itself has a glued and screwed timber frame, solid oak legs and a 10-year frame guarantee.

Made up for the night, the medium mattress measures 133 × 180cm

Delivery and setup of the Loaf sofa bed

A £3,195 sofa arriving in pieces for you to wrestle with would feel a bit cheeky. Thankfully, that isn’t what happens here. Loaf’s delivery team brought the Squishmeister into Poppy’s chosen room, set it up, took away the packaging and showed her how to unfold the bed before leaving.

The medium sofa is 206cm wide and 112cm deep, so check the route through your home first. Poppy found Loaf’s door-width information reassuring and the sofa fitted through her front door without trouble. There’s a flat-pack version for tighter spaces, but it costs considerably more.

What is the Squishmeister like as a sofa?

“It’s very, very squishy (hence the name) and comfortable. The cushions are well stuffed and really supportive,” said Poppy. At the end of the month, the cushions still felt fairly firm and were gradually softening with use. It’s built for lounging rather than perching neatly on the edge.

The thick seat cushions hold you quite high off the ground, which Poppy found slightly odd when sitting upright. They stayed comfortable through long stretches of lounging and TV, though. The foam and feather filling slowly bounced back, just as Loaf claims. The cushions are heavy and substantial, but still soft enough to sink into.

The arms are the main irritation in sofa mode. They’re high, narrow and rounded, so there’s nowhere sensible to balance a mug. You’ll need a side table and, depending on where it sits, a bit of a reach. Hardly a catastrophe, but it’s the sort of small annoyance that becomes very familiar on an everyday sofa.

In sofa mode, the Squishmeister has deep seat cushions and high, rounded arms

Is the Loaf Squishmeister comfortable to sleep on?

After sleeping on it overnight, Poppy’s verdict was: “It’s amazing. Best night’s sleep on a sofa bed of my life.” She couldn’t feel the frame or slats through the 13cm mattress and found it supportive enough for a genuinely good night’s sleep.

It wasn’t quite as comfortable as her usual Emma hybrid mattress, but then this is a folding guest bed. It did leave the previous sofa beds she’d owned looking rather mean. Her old DFS model needed mattress toppers to spare guests from its thin mattress. The Squishmeister didn’t need any such rescue operation.

Check the width before you buy. The medium mattress measures 133cm across, just 2cm narrower than a standard double, so a double fitted sheet fits it properly. It felt roomy for one person. Poppy normally shares a king-size bed with her wife and found it a squeeze for two, though comfortable enough for a night or two.

The mattress is 13cm deep, and Poppy couldn’t feel the frame underneath while sleeping

How easy is it to turn into a bed?

Once the seat cushions are off, you lift the middle bar and pull the frame towards you. Poppy managed it alone in under 10 seconds, both opening the bed and folding it away again. One bar felt stiff at first, but the rest of the mechanism moved smoothly. After the delivery team showed her what to do, she didn’t need the instructions again.

The cushions are more work than the mechanism. The back cushions slot neatly into the 12cm gap at the head of the bed, creating a comfortable padded headboard. The seat cushions are too thick to sit tidily in the gaps beside the mattress and Poppy didn’t want to force them in against the metalwork.

Those side gaps are the design’s oddest feature. Poppy measured them at around 18cm each. They make the sleeping surface look narrower than the sofa and create tempting holes for phones, books and tape measures. One small consolation is the flat ledge inside, which gives your tea somewhere to sit once the bed is open.

The pull-out bed frame folds out from beneath the sofa cushions

A closer look at the fold-out slatted frame and tufted mattress finish

How does it cope with family life and pets?

Poppy chose the Toffee Apple Red twill because she has dogs and cats and wanted the toughest, easiest-care option. Her terrier Twiglet likes digging at sofa cushions and had damaged the bouclé on her previous sofa bed. Despite his best efforts, he didn’t leave a mark on this one during the month-long test.

White dog hair showed on the red fabric, as white dog hair tends to do, but Poppy found it easy to lift with her Dyson V15 in handheld mode. There was no wear, sagging or marking at the end of testing. The cushions do need occasional plumping and their weight makes that more of a job than flicking a lightweight foam cushion back into shape.

Poppy found pet hair easy to vacuum from the hard-wearing twill upholstery

What is the quality and durability like?

The Squishmeister looks and feels expensive. The cushions are heavy, the frame feels solid and the folding mechanism remained reliable through repeated use. Poppy thought the colour was beautiful and was impressed by the amount of choice available when ordering.

“You can tell just how high quality the sofa is by looking at it and feeling it,” she said. A month can’t tell us what the mattress will feel like in five years, so we won’t pretend it can. During that month, though, the construction, fabric, cushions and mechanism all came through without signs of wear.

How much space does it need?

The medium Squishmeister fitted Poppy’s family sitting room without swamping it, but it’s not a dainty sofa. It extends to 240cm deep in bed mode and Poppy needed around 130cm of clear floor in front of the sofa to unfold it. She didn’t have to rearrange the room, as a smaller sofa bed had occupied the same spot before.

Once assembled, it’s very heavy and needs two people to move. It makes most sense in a family living room or generous guest room where it can stay put. Smaller homes need careful measuring, including the route through doors and hallways as well as the final footprint.

The Squishmeister includes a 13cm-deep, pocket-sprung mattress

Is the Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed worth the money?

At £3,195 for the medium version tested, the Squishmeister costs far more than a basic sofa bed. Poppy still felt the price matched the materials, construction, customisation and sleeping comfort. “Yes, this sofa bed really is a cut above,” she said.

That doesn’t make it the right buy for everyone. If the bed will come out once or twice a year, a cheaper model makes more financial sense. If it’s your main sofa and you regularly host overnight guests, paying for something comfortable in both modes is easier to defend. As Poppy put it, “This is a sound investment if you have regular visitors but no spare bed.”

Final verdict: should you buy the Loaf Squishmeister Sofa Bed?

Buy it if you want a sofa bed to work hard in both modes and have the budget to pay for comfort, fabric choice and a sturdy build. The Squishmeister feels like a proper family sofa first, with a guest bed that’s good enough for people you actually like.

Skip it if you only need an emergency bed, prefer upright seating or don’t have room for its 240cm extended depth. Couples used to a king-size bed should also expect the medium mattress to feel snug.

Poppy’s one warning for prospective buyers was admirably brief: “Be prepared for repeat visitors.”

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a writer, editor and content marketing expert from Leeds. At Mumsnet, she commissions, writes and edits product reviews for busy families. As a working mum, she’s particularly interested in home products that earn their keep rather than simply looking nice in a showroom.

About Mumsnet Reviews

Every Mumsnet product review draws on research and hands-on testing by real parents. We’ll tell you what worked, what didn’t and who a product will actually suit. We sometimes earn revenue through affiliate links, but this never affects what we say.

All prices are correct at the time of writing.

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